Tag Archives: economy

Fukushima

Government Incompetence: Japan’s wild animals and plants highly contaminated with Cesium!

Gakushuin University Professor Yasuyuki Muramatsu, says radioactive cesium on soil and fallen leaves in forests is easily absorbed by mushrooms and edible plants.

On 03 September 2011, wild mushrooms found in a forest in Fukushima Prefecture contained 28,000 becquerels of radioactive cesium per kilogram, far above the national safety limit.  A wild boar was also found to have radiation amounts about 6 times the safety limit.

Professor Muramatsu is urging the Japanese government to conduct tests on wild animals and plants.

FUKUSHIMA TO EUTHANIZE ABANDONED LIVESTOCK AND PETS!

FOOD CRISIS: HALF MILLION LIVESTOCK STARVING TO DEATH IN JAPAN!

Business/Economics, International

What Economic Recovery? Housing bubble bursting in Australia, big banks try to offer lower interest rates to get people to buy

“Outside Hong Kong and Shanghai, Australia is the most expensive real estate market in the world compared to income.”-Harry S. Dent Jr, economist

The housing market bubble is finally bursting in Australia, it’s being called an “economic tsunami” in Australian media.

One of the biggest Australian banks, Commonwealth Bank, has dropped its interest rates to try and get people to buy homes.

Also, most of the major home finance banks in Australia are offering refinancing loans to help keep people form defaulting on their home loans.  It’s very much like whats been going on here in the United States.

Home prices in the state of South Australia (SA) have been slashed by thousands of Australian dollars.  One woman cut her asking price by $60,000: “It’s been on the market for nine months now and the way the economy is at the moment it wasn’t even getting a look-in at open. My partner and I came to the conclusion we needed to drop the price.”-Jan Grainger, Fullarton

This weekend, U.S. economist Harry S. Dent Jr stated that the housing bubble in Australia was about to burst, as well as in China and Japan. He also indicated that the housing correction in the U.S. isn’t over: “People in places like Sydney or Tokyo or Miami say, ‘Hey, real estate can never go down here, we’re a great place, everyone wants to move here, there’s not much land for development’, and what I say is that is exactly the kind of place that bubbles.”

Dent said Australia’s house prices need to correct to 1990s levels.

In the Australian state of Victoria (VIC) real estate agents are actually dropping clients who refuse to drop their prices: “An agent only gets paid when they sell a property so if they are investing a lot of time into something they know is not going to sell, then there is no point in wasting time on it.”-Catherine Cashmore, real estate agent

In New South Wales (NSW) the state government announced that a new tax, on existing home sales to first time home buyers, would go into effect after January 1.  That is causing sales to hit 60% rate, due to people trying to beat the new tax (stamp duty).

The problem is that after January 1 you can expect home sales in NSW to hit the floor: “The stamp duty will be a hit of $15,000 – that’s a lot of money for anyone these days. People who haven’t bought or can’t buy by this time have no choice to go back on the rental market. People that don’t buy before January will see rent increase.”-Joel Hollis, real estate agent

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Global Economic War: Evil buck passing United States blames evil Europe for world economic problems, but it’s the average Joe & Jone who’s going to pay

“Seventy-five percent of the dark things happening in the world economy are because of the eurozone.”-Timothy Geithner, U.S. Department of Treasury

September 9, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner blamed the European Union for U.S. economic failures!

Geithner made the comments at a G7 meeting in France.  He says EU countries need to make even harsher cuts, and raise even more taxes, in order to solve their debt crisis.  Going by his statements, can you guess what’s coming for the people of the United States?

 

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Respected U.S. Economist says deeper recession coming, Australia no longer safest place to be

“We predicted this (current) downturn in the U.S. 20 years ago.”-Harry S. Dent Jr

September 11, U.S. economist Harry S. Dent Jr is predicting a second, deeper downturn between the beginning and the middle of next year.

Dent says the downturn will start in Europe, spread to the United States, China and eventually Australia.  He says Australia might not be the safest place to be: “Australia is probably the best place in the world to survive this, but we do think Australia will not escape as well as it did from the last crisis (in 2008).”

Dent says there are still ‘bubbles’ that need to burst.  He believes gold and silver prices are overrated, and there are still housing bubbles around the world, like in Australia, Japan and China, that need to burst.  The housing bubble that burst in the U.S. still hasn’t fully deflated.

Dent is in Australia to promote his book, The Great Crash Ahead – How to Prosper in the Debt Crisis of 2010-2012.


Business/Economics, International, Technology

Corporate Incompetence: Home juicing machines & soy milking machines contain carcinogens

A report out of China says that home juicing machines, and soybean milking machines, are being manufactured with lubricants that are known to cause cancer.

Inspectors working for the Germany company Fuchs Petrolub, discovered the malpractice: “Manufacturers of soybean milk machines, including Joyoung and Midea, are well aware that the lubricant for production is for industrial use.  It is only during product examinations from outside agencies that they purchase lubricant for food.”

Products intended for food production should use food grade lubricants, but it was revealed that the home juicing machines were put together using standard industrial grade lubricants.

However, there is apparently no law in China requiring the use of food grade lubricants for food production machines.  Staff with Fuchs Petrolub say the Chinese companies use industrial grade lubricants, for food machines, because they’re cheaper.

 

 

Business/Economics, International, Technology

Global Economic War: China accuses Europe & Japan of dumping steel products

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce is investigating claims that Europe and Japan are dumping steel tubes in China.

“Dumping can force established domestic producers out of a market and lead to monopolistic positions by the exporting nation.”-Wikipedia

China will look into the matter of “certain high-performance stainless steel seamless tubes” and calculate the loss suffered by domestic companies.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Global Economic War: Nike rips off Chinese customers, sells them downgraded shoes at higher prices than in the United States

Nike has admitted to false advertising in China.  This after a Chinese customer, who just happens to be a counterfeit products investigator, discovered that Nike was selling downgraded versions of their Nike Zoom Hyperdunk 2011.

The shoe sells in the United States for around $125.00, and has two air cushions in each shoe.  According to the Chinese man who filed the complaint against Nike, the Chinese versions sell for $78.00 more than the U.S. version, and have only one air cushion per shoe.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Bank of America announces more layoffs, 40,000+

“You’re definitely going to see decreased service levels for consumers. They’re talking about either closing branches or reducing the head count in the branches.”-Christopher Whalen, Institutional Risk Analytics.

The largest bank in the United States will make it official, they will layoff 40,000 or more employees, over the next couple of years.  The official announcement is expected to take place on September 12.

Bank of America is struggling with the slow U.S. economy, and major lawsuits, including a lawsuit by the Federal government, relating to dodgy mortgage-backed securities issued by its subsidiaries, Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch.

B of A claims it lost $9 billion during the second quarter of this year, and is selling half of its stock in the China Construction Bank to raise about $8.3 billion in cash.

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? U.S. citizens moving to Europe, say there’s no more opportunities in the United States

“I’m doing it as an exit strategy of sorts. I like knowing that I have another place to go if things get even worse here, or if I just get tired of running on the American mouse wheel.”-Amber Alfano

According to a Florida media source, the number of U.S. citizens who want to move to Europe has skyrocketed. The number one reason is economic: “With an EU passport, I can live and work in 27 countries. With a U.S. passport, I can live and work in one.”-Suzanne Mulvehill

Many U.S. citizens can qualify for European citizenship, if a parent or grand parent was a European national.  It’s estimated that more than 40 million U.S. citizens are eligible for dual citizenship.

“It’s definitely a really good thing to have on your résumé with business going so global. I probably never would have done it if it wasn’t for the EU, but at the same time I’ve always been extremely proud of my Greek heritage.”-Lauren Berg

“I understand the impulse: You can get a better deal over there.”-Stanley Renshon, City University of New York

Attorney’s say the number of people wanting legal help moving to another country has definitely gone up: “I have to say that over the past few years, calls I never would have received before have been made to the office. It’s not like a tidal wave, but it’s certainly more substantial, and it’s remarkable.”-Sam Levine, immigration attorney

“My dad was actually the one who put a bug in my ear about the whole citizenship thing. He said that Europeans are more interested in the quality of life than the quantity, and that it was a good place to have and raise children because of the way their social systems work. I don’t care much about the child-rearing part, but I would gladly trade in some of my material possessions for a little flat, a scooter and more vacation.”-Amber Alfano

 

 

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Despite Mexican Civil War, Mexico is the number one destination of U.S. citizens escaping the United States

“We’ve seen an increase of almost 40% in the number of American citizens making inquiries about the requirements for moving to Mexico. There are definitely more Americans emigrating to Mexico…”-Mexican Consulate in New York

In 2009, Mexico became the number one country of choice for U.S. citizens trying to escape the economic and political madness of the United States.

In the Fall of 2008 the one millionth U.S. citizen established residency in Mexico.  There are more U.S. citizens living in Mexico, than in Canada or the United Kingdom.

Foremost are the retirees, who can have a higher standard of living in Mexico than they could in the U.S.

Then there were the professionals who were sent here by their companies or were here on business.

Now there are people looking to live the ‘American Dream’ in Mexico: “My wife and I are both self-employed, so while we don’t make as much money as some of our peers, one of our currencies is freedom and the ability to work anywhere. We keep the focus on results with our clients, not where or how the work gets done. Two recurring themes from all the expatriates we meet here are opportunity and reinvention.”-John and Nicole Larson from Minnesota

A New York couple moved to Mexico just to have a baby, because of Mexico’s socialized health care system: “Top of the list is that the economic benefits of being here allow us both to spend far more time with our son Johnny than we would be allowed if we lived the same style of life back in New York.  We would both have to work full time and our child would be raised with home help and daycare. To be able to personally care for him and watch his daily development is a luxury that we fully appreciate, and it seems a more natural and beneficial way to live.”-John Rogers, moved to Merida, Mexico

It’s not just U.S. citizens, but Canadians and English speaking Europeans who are moving to Mexico, so much so that the Merida Literary Salon has been established, as well as the Merida English Language Library.